Chapter 737: The Primal and Ultimate Realm

Again and again.

Death, then resurrection.

Neither Lolth nor Kululu possessed any concrete "objective."

Everywhere their gazes fell manifested formless devastation – or rather, the transcendental concept of the End of Days itself.

Again and again.

Resisting until their divine souls were obliterated and vanished without trace.

Yet as Kululu had prophesied… sufficient time and opportunity proved vital for Lolth.

Any entity that "exists," even those beyond conventional existence, would inevitably surrender their secrets to her relentless scrutiny.

Contemplation, analysis, then resolution.

Mere malice in its purest form…

Through countless iterations, through endless cycles…

Until the final attempt.

"I’ve discovered it!"

Within that timeless void where moments stretched into millennia, Lolth’s triumphant cry echoed.

She’d unraveled the method to permanently eradicate the world-devouring malice, the means to halt the inexorable End of Days.

Though requiring epochs to implement… the solution existed.

That fragile thread of hope before eternal despair, the singular vulnerability in infinite perfection.

"Is that so… How splendid."

Kululu’s voice resonated from behind.

Lolth whirled around to find empty void where her companion should be.

Her breath caught.

While their temporal convergence granted near-limitless "opportunities" for restoration after each annihilation…

All cosmic balances demand equilibrium.

Lolth’s perpetual awareness and existential integrity stemmed from… Kululu bearing the full brunt of each destructive recursion.

"Kululu… What have you done?"

Sensing her companion’s essence, Lolth understood.

Kululu dwelled within her very soul.

Or more precisely – Kululu had nearly forfeited her own "being."

The price for infinite resurrection proved straightforward yet devastating.

Kululu had woven temporal threads, compelling every iteration of Lolth across past, present and future to perish as her surrogates.

This cosmic bargain required parallel compliance from all Kululu existences.

Since she possessed the authority of "Eternity" and originated from another world, the existence of a single instantiated self equated to the simultaneous existence of all possible selves.

Yet this remained her exclusive privilege.

Lolth felt sorrow surge within her.

"Kululu… you wretched fool…"

She gazed at the figure before her.

Having endured three eras and perished three hundred sixty thousand times, they now stood again at the "World’s Edge"—the very site where they’d first unraveled the End of Days.

Kululu had been deceased for three entire eras.

Thus, every survivor from the First Era who beheld her reacted with shock.

She should have perished long ago.

The Kululu before them now existed merely as a residual phantom.

The pink-haired maiden brushed away Lolth’s tears.

"Grieve not overmuch. We’ve shared sufficient years together, my cherished Lolth."

"Throughout those myriad deaths, our essences intertwined seamlessly—an exquisite communion."

Kululu’s tone carried casual grace as Lolth clasped her hand.

"You deceived me… You vowed this wasn’t a death pilgrimage."

"Ah… Circumstances permitted no alternative…"

The familiar vulpine smile played across Kululu’s lips.

"Your heart shelters this world, Teacher Lolth. My devotion mirrors yours."

"This creation bears your essence, yet it’s equally my cradle—the soil where I sprouted and flourished… I’ll not witness its ruination."

"Therefore—proceed, Teacher."

"Seek the ‘Primordial-Terminus’ locus. Reclaim your devised salvation."

Kululu guided Lolth’s palm upward.

"Then… deliver redemption."

Lolth experienced renewed gravitational surrender—

—lasting mere moments before materializing within her sovereign realm.

This inaugural kingdom, her first mastered dominion, rekindled memories of constructing the primal half-plane.

Within the infinite library’s expanse, a bespectacled girl shut her massive tome.

"Five Colors."

Lolth breathed the appellation.

"Your Eminence." The librarian rose, smiling. "Long has your absence lingered."

"Are you prepared to reclaim your birthright?"

After contemplative silence, Lolth inclined her head.

The library’s grand portals yawned wide.

Xiletor emerged through the archway.

"Greetings, beloved sister."

She settled beside Lolth, facing Five Colors across the table.

"Thus the ‘Apotheosis Path’ elevates not to godhood… but beyond divinity itself."

Lolth’s statement held no surprise.

"Precisely." Xiletor confirmed. "From your advent here, you’ve transcended all deities."

"Comprehension dawns… My chronicle within this world lies unveiled."

Since the First Era’s zenith—when Insaesya, Krowad, and Ailuo’s triumvirate civilizations warred—she’d roused from slumber to parley with their divine sovereigns: Fuen (Krowad’s Matron of Life and Order), Kululu (Ailuo’s Keeper of Archives and Seals), and Mahy (Krowad’s Sovereign of Arcana and Marvels).

To these primeval goddesses, she revealed the End of Days’ inevitability, forging their alliance against oblivion.

Under Lolth’s guidance, the advanced civilizations constructed sanctuaries—giving rise to Mercury Ruins and the alabaster half-plane relics.

Yet dimensional tides preceding the first cataclysm seeped corruptive malice, tainting all refuges.

Mahy detonated her Divine Kingdom—sacrificing magic/miracle authorities to preserve civilization’s core, though this act plunged her into deathlike slumber. Her desperate measure warped numerous Ailuo citizens and most Krowad folk into malice-infused hybrids—the demon race.

Despite Fuen’s purification efforts against soul corruption, impending doom permitted no thorough cleansing.

Mahy’s sacrifice illuminated crucial truth: divine authority held potency against the apocalypse.

But gods themselves proved corruptible. To prevent single tainted deity dooming all, Lolth conceived her answer—

Artificial gods.

Where every mortal could attain divine rank.